As the weather had cooled a little (down to mid seventies in old money) we thought that a stroll around College Lake would make a nice break. With the water level low, additional ground was exposed and there were large areas shallow enough for a flock of lapwing to stand in. There were quite a few terns around and a solitary redshank was wading in deeper water. We were told that there was a garganey present but it spent all its time hidden behind one of the islands. The early ripening of blackberries was obvious with a lot of fruit looking ready to eat already. Walking along the hard surfaced paths we kept seeing froglets crossing which defied any attempt to be photographed. There were also large numbers of blue damselflies, I would guess common blues but none staid still long enough to attempt a proper identifyication. On the other hand a burnett moth did allow itself to be photographed.
Once upon a time you could find me birding on the Thames marshes almost every weekend through the winter. For various reasons I am now seldom able to travel to good birding sites. I am lucky, however, to live in the beautiful Chiltern Hills and this blog is to document the birds that I see on my own patch.